


The Reaper

by Murray889



Category: Chicago PD, Criminal Minds
Genre: Crossover
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-09 00:55:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 13,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27356104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Murray889/pseuds/Murray889
Summary: Erin Lindsay left Chicago behind three years ago. Now working with the BAU she is brought back to the city she left behind when a serial killer begins to terrorize Chicago. How will those she left behind react to her being back. Can they work together to stop this killer before more innocent lives are lost.
Relationships: Jay Halstead & Erin Lindsay
Comments: 1
Kudos: 32





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Author Note: This story is a Chicago PD/ Criminal Minds crossover. There is a serial killer on the loose in Chicago the resembles the Reaper case the BAU worked 10 years ago. In this story Hotch and Morgan never left the BAU. Erin still left Chicago at the end of season 4.

Disclaimer: I don’t own any of the characters on Chicago PD or Criminal Minds. This is an A/U story some things will be kept the same some will be different. 

Prologue

It was cold Chicago night. The young couple were making their way home from a friends house. All of a sudden the car hit a pothole in the road. The wheel on the car began making a weird noise so the young man pulls the car over to see what happened. 

“You have got to be kidding me!” The young man said as he slammed his hand against the steering wheel as he pulls off to the side of the isolated road. 

“Calm down, Michael. It sounds like we’ve got a flat. ” She says. 

He rolls down his window and sticks his head out. He looks at the front tire and sees that it still has air, he glances to the back and sees the tire looks flat. He gets out of the car to check the tire to make sure. He sees that the tire his flat and he as he walks toward the truck, he stops and leans in the window and says, “We’ve definitely got a flat. I’m going to check the back to see if we have a spare. 

“Ugh..Just hurry up and change I don’t want to be stuck on this road all night.” She says as she pulls out her phone and calls her friend.

He rolls his eyes, “I know Sarah. I don’t want to be out her all night either.” He shakes his head and goes to the back of the car and gets the spare out along with the wrench. He gets to work trying to change the tire. He sees a van approaching with its headlights on. He raises his arm to shield the light. A man gets out the van and shuts the door. He appears to be talking to someone inside the van before he heads over to the young man.

“You alright?” He says in gruff voice.

“Yeah. We just got a flat nothing serious.” Michael replies.

“Do you need any help?” The man asks.

Michael looks up at the man and says. “I think we’re good.”

“Hey man, if you don’t want any help that’s your choice. I just want to see if you needed help to get out here faster.” The man says as heads back to his car.

Michael sighs and says, “You know what I would love the help. It’s been a while since I changed a tire and my girl and I just want to get home.” He glances back at the man. Who’s was now standing at his opened van door. 

Michael turns his attention back to trying to remove the lug nuts. “I hope you’re better at removing these than I am.” Michael says. 

Michael looks up at man and notices he has a mask covering his face. Before he can say anything the man reaches up and hits him over the head with a tire iron.

He moves to the passenger side of the car and pulls out a gun and points it at the young woman’s head. She lets out a scream at the gun being pointed at her head. “Give me your watch.” He yells.

She removes it and gives it to him. “Please don’t kill me.” She cries.

He takes the watch from him. “I’m not going to kill you.” He says as he puts the gun away. He pulls out a knife instead and she lets out a scream before he slits her throat. He moves back to where he left the young man with his gun out.

Michael regains consciousness and looks up at the man. “Sarah.” He calls out. 

The man replies, “She’s dead.”

Michael tries to get up but can’t. The man moves closer to him and says, “Are you scared?” Before the young man can reply the man says, “You should be.” And he pulls the trigger.

Voight look down at the crime scene photos of the latest murder of a young couple. This had been the third murder in Chicago with the same mo. Leaned back in his chair clearly frustrated. It had been five days with no leads on any of the murders. The Intelligence Unit had been no sleep for the last couple of days and they were still nowhere. The victims were all different ages but the offender left the same symbol at all three crime scenes. Voight knew that he was in way over his head that’s why he placed a call the BAU. They specialized in cases like this as much as it pained Voight to bring in the FBI he knew this was the right move. His team was exhausted and they needed fresh eyes. 

Voight gets up from his desk and heads toward his closed office door. He opens it up and says, “Go home. Be back early tomorrow.”

The unit nods their heads at him and they begin to gather their stuff to leave the district. Voight heads back to his office and sits down at his desk. He leans back in the seat and runs his head over his face. His office phone ringing pulls him out of his thoughts. 

“Voight.” He answers in a raspy voice.

He hears a heavy voice breathing before they speak. “I’ll stop killing them, if you stop hunting me.”

Voight is up of his chair in an instant. “You son of a bitch. You think you can come into my city and tell me how do things! There is no hole you can hide in that will keep me from finding you!” Voight yells as he slams the phone down.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Here is the first chapter of the Reaper. This story is still in development so bare with me on how often I update. Now that Back Where I Belong is finished I can focus more on this story. Just some background, I changed some things in the Criminal Minds universe: Hotch is the still team leader, Rossi is retired. Morgan still got married but stayed with the BAU. Emily moved to Rossi position as Senior Unit Agent. I also changed somethings in the Chicago PD universe because I can and it’s my story LOL. Nadia is alive in this story and she graduate the police academy and works as patrolman in the 21st. I always thought her death storyline was stupid. Erin still had her break down at the end of season 2 but instead of Nadia dying it was a case that went bad. Also there will be at least one major character death not sure if I will have more or not. I think that’s it. So I hope enjoy this ride!

“It has been said, ‘time heals all wounds.’ I do not agree. The wounds remain. In time, the mind, protecting its sanity, covers them with scar tissue and the pain lessens. But it is never gone.” Rose Kennedy.

Erin Lindsay sat at her desk in the BAU with a smile on her face. This is where she belonged. From the moment she transferred into the unit they accepted her. When she first took the job with FBI in Counterterrorism to save her mother, she never would have imagined she would wind up here. But here she was a profiler in the BAU and she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

She thinks back to the night she packed up all of her stuff said goodbye to Hank and prepared to leave Chicago behind for good. But then Jay called her. She thought about ignoring the call but she knew she owed him some kind of an explanation. So, she answered the call and had him meet her. 

*Flashback*

“Jay.” She says with tears in her eyes as he approaches her.

He stuffs his hands in his coat pocket and says, “What’s going?”

She takes a deep breath and says, “The FBI offered me a job and I’m taking it.” Jay gets ready to speak but Erin holds up her hand to stop him. “They offered me the job in exchange for my mother’s freedom.”

“Erin.” He says disappointed.

“I know what you going to say Jay. “ She shrugs her shoulders and continues. “But no matter what she’s done she’s still my mother.”

Jay shakes his head. “She always does this to you.” He says with anger in his voice. “She makes a mess of things and then expects you to drop everything and clean it up.”

“I know. But this job is a fresh start for me. Away from Bunny and all of her problems. And away from Chicago.” 

“What about Hank?” He asks. “He’s okay with you just leaving?”

She looks at him pointily and says, “Hank’s the one who told me to leave and never look back.”

Jay looks at her in disbelief. “What about me?” Jay asks desperately.

Erin sighs and says, “What about you? Jay we aren’t even together anymore.”

Jay looks down. He pulls the ring box out of his pocket with tears in his eyes. Erin looks at him with shock on her face. She moves closer to him and places her hand of the one that’s holding the box to prevent him from opening it. “Jay.”

He looks her in the eyes, “I can fix this.”

“You proposing isn’t going to fix our problems. Maybe…” She pauses. “Maybe this time away from each other is what we need.”

Jay shakes his head. “I shouldn’t have left you. I should have stayed.”

She wipes the tears falling from his eyes. “But you did and I can’t stay here. As long as I’m in Chicago there will also be another crisis with Bunny and I can’t do it anymore.” She pauses. She cradles his face in her hands, “Even though I’m leaving I don’t want to lose you from my life. You’re too important to me.”

He looks up at her and says, “I don’t want that either.”

Erin gives him a sad smile, “Look out for Nadia for me.” She clears her throat. “She’s going to need someone in her corner.”

“I promise” He places his hand on her cheek and rubs it. “I’m going to miss you.”

She nods her head. “I’m going to miss you too.” She leans forward and places a kiss on his cheek. They stare into each other’s eyes knowing that there was so much more that needed to be said but nothing more came.

Erin broke the silence first. “Goodbye, Jay.” She whispers.

He watches as she gets in her car, “Goodbye, Erin.”

*End Flashback*

At first calls between them were few and far between but as they began to slowly rebuild their friendship the calls became more frequent. Jay kept his promise and looked out for Nadia. Erin tried calling Nadia when she first left but Nadia never answered her calls. She found out from talking with Jay Nadia was upset that Erin didn’t tell her she was leaving. Jay tried to smooth things over but every time Erin’s name was mentioned Nadia clamed up. Erin thanked Jay for trying but she knew that she could be the only one to mend that relationship. So, she kept trying and eventually Nadia answered. It took a lot of work on Erin’s part but Nadia and she were now on better terms.

Jay had turned out to be a great confidant and friend for her. He helped her with her anxiety about working in the Counterterrorism unit. Just like he did when she was running the task force. The job itself was great but for the past 1 ½ years that’s all it was a job. The people she worked weren’t here family and they never would be. She did the job to the best of her ability but she never really felt part of the team. She never hung out with any of them outside, she just did the job and went home.

She had met Aaron Hotchner when he and his team were in New York working on a case. Erin became intrigued by the work they did profiling the bombers who were attacking the city. She enjoy working alongside them and learning from them. Before they left, Hotch pulled her aside told her that she did had done a great job on this case and that she may have a future as a profiler. Erin was shocked by the praise and thanked him. She remembered calling Jay and telling him what Hotch had said. He told her that if this is something that she wanted to that she should take the chance and do it. Not long after that conversation she decided take the classes to become a profiler. Once she completed the classes she decided to but in for a transfer to the BAU. 

After not hearing anything back for six months she had all but given up, then out of nowhere she heard that the transfer went through. She pack up her stuff and moved to Quantico, Virginia. Her first day at the BAU the team took her in and she felt at home. She had been with the BAU for close to a year now and this team was quickly becoming like a second family to her. When Erin first meet Reid she could believe the knowledge that he held for such a young person. He would sprout of facts to her at the drop of a hat and it always amused her. She had come to think of him as a little brother. Morgan and Erin quickly develop a close friendship seeing how they were both from Chicago and both worked on the force. They also had one more thing in common they both knew Hank Voight. Having Morgan on the team made her feel like she had a piece of home with her. 

Emily took Erin under her wing and help her adjust to a new city. When they weren’t working she made sure to include Erin when they went out or had girl’s nights. She loved hanging out with JJ and Penelope. Penelope was the joy of the team. They dealt with so many dark things and it was nice having someone who would bring joy in the mist of the darkness. JJ aka Jennifer Jareau like Emily had taken Erin under her wing as well.

Seeing JJ’s relationship with Will made Erin envious. Things with Jay had been progressing over the past couple of months. He had come to visit her and the two ended the night back at her apartment. The next morning they talk and decided to give their relationship another go even though they were living in two separate places. Right now things were going well for them. Jay would visit her anytime that he could and they called and facetime each other as much as they could. She asked JJ how she balanced it all and JJ told her it wasn’t easy. She told Erin about when she and Will first starting seeing each other and how hard it was being a long-distance relationship. Erin was shocked she figured that she hand met Will in Virginia. Hearing JJ story gave her hope that maybe there was still a future for her and Jay even though right now it was long distance.

She caught JJ moving toward Hotch’s office with hast and she knew what that meant they had a case. But there was something different in her walk today. She didn’t acknowledge any of them she just went straight to Hotch’s office and closed the door.

She turns to the rest of the team and says, “I wonder what that’s about?”

Reed’s eyes look up at Hotch’s office. “I have no idea but my guess is we’ll find out soon.“ 

…

As JJ closes the door to his office, Hotch looks up from his paperwork. He sees the look on her face and knows it’s serious. “What is it JJ?”

“We’ve been asked by the Intelligence Unit to help assist them in Chicago. They believe they have a serial killer. They’ve had three murders in the last five days.” Hotch closes the file on his desk and stares up at JJ. “The latest victim was shot with .44 Magnum revolver after he was hit over the head. The female victim had her throat slit before she was stabbed 46 times. The killer left a signature at each crime scene.” 

She moves toward Hotch and hands him the case file. He opens it up and looks at the crime scene photos. He looks up at her and says, “Gather the team. I’ll grab Emily.”

“Hotch…” She says looking at him. He shakes his head and JJ knows now is not the time. She opens his office door and heads to gather the team.

…

When JJ comes out of the office she doesn’t look happy. Her face is serious when she looks over at them. “We have case.” JJ walks away to go and get Garcia.

Everyone exchanges looks with each other before they head toward the conference room. . The team sits and waits for Prentiss and Hotch to enter. Once they arrive everyone opens their iPad while read opens his case file as JJ begins talking, “Chicago believes they have a serial killer.” As the images fill the screen. Erin notices that the team becomes oddly quiet. “Three couples in the last five days have been murdered. The latest victims are Sarah Johnson 20 and Michael Dane 25 they were stopped on the side of the road with a flat.” 

Hotch takes over, “The unsub approached offering to help. But once Michael’s back his turned he hits him over the head. He then proceeds to move to the passenger side of the vehicle and takes Sarah’s watch making it appear to be a robbery. Once he has what she thinks he wants he slits her throat and proceeds to stabbed 46 times. He then goes back to the male victim and shoots him in the head.”

“Hotch” Morgan says. 

Hotch looks at Morgan and says, “I know.”

“This is exactly like the Reaper’s first kill after he returned.” Morgan replies.

“The Reaper?” Erin asks confused as she looks up from case files.

Everyone looks at each other as no one seems to know what to say. Hotch sighs, “The Reaper was an unsub we had 10 years ago. He terrorized the city of Boston…”

Erin interrupts him, “Wait, do we think this is the same guy?”

“it’s not possible.” Hotch says.

Erin looks up at him and says, “How do you know?”

“Because I killed him. Excuse me.” Hotch leaves the room as silence takes over. Rossi gets up and follows after him. 

Erin looks at the rest of the team in shock and says, “I feel like I’m missing something.”

Morgan sighs, “The Reaper was the first case Hotch had as leader of the BAU. The Boston detective at the time was offered a deal by the Reaper. If he stopped hunting him he would stop killing. He took the deal and the Reaper stopped killing. When they detective died the killings started again.” He pauses before he continues. “We were called back in on the case and soon found out the last victim of the Reaper George Foyet was actually the Reaper. He stabbed himself 67 times just to throw the police of his tracks.”

Erin looks at Morgan in shock. “He offered Hotch the same deal but he didn’t take. Needless to say Foyet continued killing. He stalked Hotch and his family.” Morgan takes a breath and says,  
“Foyet killed Hotch’s ex-wife in their old house. 

“Oh my god.” Erin says clearly disturb by what she is hearing. 

“Yeah. We all heard her die over the phone. He was going after Hotch’s son next so he did what he had to do to protect his son.” Morgan says standing up.

“This case is personal for him. We all know that the Reaper is dead but seeing someone killing just like he did is going to bring up a lot of things for Hotch.” Emily says taking over were Morgan left off. “We have to be there for him.”

Erin shakes her head. “I can’t imagine what he went through. I mean this has got to open up a lot of old wounds for him.”

“It does.” Everyone turns there head at the sound of Hotch’s voice. “But we still have a job to do.” The all nod their heads in agreement. “Wheels up in thirty.”


	3. Chapter 3

Marcel Proust wrote, “Remembrance of things past is not necessarily the remembrance of things as they were.”

Hank let out a sigh and leaned back in his chair as he looks out into the empty bullpen. His unit would be arriving soon ready to get to work. With the expansion of his team that had to make some changes to the bullpen. With the addition of Kim and Hailey they needed to move things around. Al and Ruzek still sat across from each other while Hailey took Erin’s old desk. They moved Mouse’s old desk up against Hailey’s and their desks now faced each other. When Antonio came back he went back to his old desk. He mind starts to drift away from his unit back to the phone call he received from the killer terrorizing his city. The murders are unlike anything they have ever seen before. There’s just some nut job going around murdering people without any rhyme or reason and they had no leads on who this person could be. That’s why he called in the BAU to help. Working with the feds wouldn’t have been his first choice but he knows what kind of man Derek Morgan is and he knows the team he works with in the BAU are good at catching guys like this. 

He looks out of the window of his office and watches as his unit arrives for the day. He sees the defeat in their steps as they head to their desks.

Hank lets out a sigh and gets up from his chair. He opens the door to his office and stands there for a minute leaning against the door, “Alright, I know were all tired and frustrated about the murders.” 

“Sarge, we got no leads, no suspects and this bastard could kill again at any moment.” Ruzek replies as from his spot next to Kevin’s desk. 

“I know. That’s why I called in some experts.”

Jay feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. He slips his hand into his pocket to silence the phone. He leans up and from layback position in his seat and places his elbow on the desk, “Who’d you call?”

“A special unit in the FBI known as the BAU.” Jay looks up at Hank trying to keep his facial expression neutral. He discreetly pulls out his phone to see that he has a two missed calls from Erin. 

“You called in the feds?” Antonio said in surprise, “You must really think this guys can help.”

Hank smacks his lips, “I do.” He pauses, “One of the guys from the unit used to be a Chicago cop. His name is Derek Morgan and Al and I knew his father who was killed in the line of duty.” 

Al nods his head in agreement at Hanks’s statement. “Morgan’s a good kid. 

“I trust him and he and his team should be here sometime this afternoon.” Hank eyes move around the room and raises his finger to point at them, “This is are only case right now as per Ivory Tower. I want all of our focus on finding this son of bitch.” He pauses, “While we wait for the feds to arrive I want you guys to finish up your paperwork so all your focus can be on this case.” Everyone nods their heads in agreement as Hank turns and heads into his office. 

…

Erin sat looking out the window of the jet. They would be landing in Chicago in a few minutes and she was nervous. She hadn’t talk to most of them since she left without so much as a goodbye. She had exchanged a couple of phone calls with Hank over the years but she had never gone to see him even though he tried. It was a year after she left that Hank called and tried to get her to come home for a visit for Christmas. She refused the offer and made up a work excuse. Hank knew she was lying so he stopped asking. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see Hank, it was that she wasn’t ready to be back in Chicago dealing with Bunny drama again. She hadn’t heard from her mother since she left but she knew if Bunny got wind that she was back the drama would start again. But now she was coming home again better and stronger than when she left. No one knew that she was coming and everyone was going to be surprised to see her. She had tried to call Jay and let him know but he wasn’t answering his phone. 

Erin is pulled from her thoughts by the sound of Hotch calling her name, “Erin?”

She blinks her eyes and looks across from her at Hotch, “Sorry.” She says as she does quick scan to see if anyone else noticed her absent thoughts. But no one else noticed. Reid was sitting with Morgan looking at pictures of Morgan’s kid, while Emily and JJ were getting coffee. 

“It’s okay.” Hotch looks her in the eyes, “You sure you’re okay about going back to Chicago?” 

Erin lets out a sigh, “I’m good it’s just been a while since I’ve been home.”

“How long?”

“Three years.” She shakes her head, “But it’s fine. I’m in a better place than I was when I left.”

Hotch nods his head, “Good because I want you running point as liaison between the two teams.”

Erin looks at him in shock, “Me? Don’t you think that someone else should be doing that? I mean Morgan know Voight.”

“I want you.” Hotch leans in closer. “While Morgan may know Sergeant Voight, you are the only one who has worked with both team. You have a great repour with the Intelligence unit from your time working with them.”

“Okay.” She replies a little reluctantly. 

“This isn’t going to be a problem for you is it?” 

Erin closes her eyes and lets out a sigh. “No, sir. I can handle this.” She says with more confidence in her voice.

“Good. I knew I could count on you.” Erin gives Hotch a small smile. “Alright, let’s get started.” Everyone makes there way over. Emily takes a sit next to Hotch while JJ sits next to Erin. Morgan and Reid stand as Hotch begins to speak, “When we land Morgan and I will check out the crime scene while the rest of you head to district.” Hotch looks over at Erin. “Erin will be running point as liaison between the two teams since she has worked with both teams before and knows Sergeant Voight.” Everyone nods their heads in agreement.  
…

The SUV pulls up to the steps of the District 21 and the BAU team gets out. Erin is the last one out of the truck as the rest of the team heads inside. She stands and stares up at the building that held so many memories for her both good and bad. It’s been a long time since she has seen her old unit and she was nervous. 

As JJ and Emily approach the Sergeants’ desk Reid notices that Erin isn’t with them and turns to head back outside. “Hey guys, I’ll catch up with you in a sec.” JJ and Prentiss nod their heads before continuing on into the District. As heads back out the door he spots Erin just standing there staring up at the building. 

He heads down the steps toward her, “Hey, are you ok??” Reid asks.

Erin takes her eyes off the building and turns to Reid and gives him a small smile, “ Yeah, I’m good.” Reid nods his head at her as Erin takes a deep breath and walks up the to join him. He gives her a side hug and they both head up the steps into the District.

“Well, well…what have we done to have the honor of the FBI here at District 21?” Sergeant Platt says sarcastically as she stares at the members of the BAU.

Emily and JJ look at each other then back at the women ready to answer. But before they can Erin and Reid enter just in time to her walks up the steps to the just in time to here Platt giving her team a hard time. “Sergeant can you please stop giving my team a hard time and buzz us upstairs.” Erin says as she enters the district.

Shock appears on Platt’s face as she hears the raspy voice that she knows so well. “As I live and breathe the prodigal daughter has returned.” Platt says as she moves behind the desk and comes to give Erin a hug.

“I’ve missed you too Sergeant.” Erin says with a smile, as she returns the hug.

“How’ve you been, Erin?” 

Erin smiles up at her, “I’ve been good. Working with my new team at the BAU.” She says as she points to her team. “Where here to help Voight on a case.”

Platt nods her head, “It’s good to see you.” She moves back around the desk and hit the buzzer. “You know the way.” She says as she points to the gate. 

“Thank you.” She replies as she makes her way up the stairs and opens the gate. JJ, Prentiss and Reid follow close behind her as she walks up the stairs to Intelligence for the first time in three years. As her foot hits the last step the talking in the bullpen stops. Every eye is on the new people who just entered the bullpen. But more specifically the woman who left three years ago without so much as a goodbye. 

Hank spots Erin and a huge smile appears on his face. “Hey guys.” 

“Erin.” 

“Hi, Hank.” She says as she walks further into the bullpen and into his waiting arms. “It’s good to see you.

“You too, kiddo.” He says as she pulls back from the hug. “So, what brings you here?”

Erin clears her throat. “I’m with the BAU unit of the FBI now. We were told you guys need help finding a serial killer.”

Hank smack his lips as a smile appear on his face. “Look at you moving up in the world. I’m proud of you kid.”

“Thanks.” 

Everyone else moves over to greet Erin. Hailey stays at her desk and watches Jay who stays rooted in his spot. As soon as she saw Erin she was worried how Jay was going to react to her being her. He was devasted when she left but he was finally starting to get back to his normal self. The two of them had gotten close not just as partners but as friends. She kept watching him to see if he was angry but he looked at peace. He must have felt her staring because now he is watching her. He gives her a small smile letting her know that he’s okay and she nods her head in understanding.

As everyone finally started moving back to their desks Jay looks over at Erin, “It’s good to see you Lindsay.”

She shots a quick glance at Jay and says, “You too Jay.” She looks around at everyone, “We should probably get started.” Erin turns around to introduce her team. “These are agents Jareau, Prentiss and Dr. Reid.”

Hank moves to shake their hands. When he gets to JJ he says, “You’re the one I spoke to on the phone.” 

JJ nods her head, “It’s nice to meet you.”

He nods his head, “Where’s the rest of the team.”

“Agents Hotch and Morgan will be here later.” Erin pauses and looks over at Hank, “What do we have?”

Hank nods his head at them and says, “We’ve had three couples murdered in the past three days with no leads. These aren’t just any kind of murders, there vicious. I called you guys in because I this guy off my streets.”

Reid speaks up as he talks with his hands. “We believe that your dealing with a copycat killer.”

Jay looks up at the young man. “Dr. Reid, right?” Reid nods his head at the detective. “How do you know that this guy is a copycat?”

“We worked at case like this 10 years ago, he was known as the Reaper. There a lot of things particularly in this latest murder that are exactly like one the murders that the Reaper committed. He stabbed the female victim 46 times the same as the Reaper and bludgeoned and shot the male. The unsub even left the same signature.”

“I’ll ask again why do you think it’s a copycat and not the same guy?” Jay questioned.

Reid looks at everyone before he speaks. “Because the Reaper is dead.”

Voight looks at Jay and back at Reid. He lifts up his finger and points at him. “So, you telling me there some fuck out there that’s so obsessed with this Reaper guy that he killing in the same way he did.”

Emily speaks up and says, “Most likely he has been having this urgers for a while and something in the way the Reaper kills speaks to him. ”

“How are we going to catch this guy? ” Adam Ruzek asks as he points to the board where the crime scene photos hang. “I mean, all we know about this guy is that he kills in the exact way as the Reaper person.”

Reid speaks up again, “That’s not actually all we know. This unsub knows specific details of the case which means that he has been studying him for years. He even knows that the Reaper took an item from each crime scene and placed on of the victims in the next. We are able to study the crime scenes and the victimology to determine the type of behavior the unsub has. Then from there we can come up with a profile that can help narrow down the suspect list.”

“In the case of the Reaper he wanted to inflict as much pain and chaos as he could just like the copycat is doing right now.” JJ says.

“We won’t know more about the unsub until he kills again.” Everyone turns around to see who is the owner of the new voice that’s speaking. Hotch and Morgan make their way into the bullpen. He makes his way over to Sergeant Voight, “I’m Aaron Hotchner.” The two men shake hands. 

“Hank Voight.” Hank looks over at Derek and a smile appears on his face. “If it isn’t Derek Morgan.”

Derek returns the smile as Hank pulls him into a hug, “It’s good to see you Hank.” 

“How you doing kid?” Al says as he moves over and gives Morgan a hug, “Good.”

Hotch looks over at Hank Sergeant can I speak with you in your office?” 

“Sure.” 

Hotch turns to Erin and motion for her to join him in the office with Hank. The trio heads into Hank’s office as Erin closes the door behind her. “What can I help you with Agent Hotchner?”

Hotch stands next to Erin and looks over at Hank “There are a lot of similarities between The Reaper and the copycat. What I would like to know is, if you received a call for the unsub?”

Hank leans back in his desk chair and smacks his lips together. He looks over at Erin then at Hotch, “I received a call the night before I called before I called Agent Jareau.”

“What did the he say?” Hotch asks with a pensive look on his face.

“He offered me a deal. He told me if I stop hunting him than he would stop killing?”

“Did you take the deal?” Hank shakes his head no.

Erin looks over at hotch with a questioning look on her face, “What does any of this mean?”

Hotch let’s out a sigh, “It means that he’s not done killing and things are about to get much worse.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Please leave a review to let me know what you think 


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hope everyone as a Happy and safe Thanksgiving!!

Mark Twain wrote “Of all the animals, man is the only one that is cruel. He is the only one that inflicts pain for the pleasure of doing it.”

Previously on the Reaper…

Erin looks over at hotch with a questioning look on her face, “What does any of this mean?”

Hotch let’s out a sigh, “It means that he’s not done killing and things are about to get much worse.”

Hank looks over at Hotch with a grim look on his face, “What do you mean worse?”

Hotch let’s out a sigh and looks over at Voight, “The Reaper offered me the same deal and when I didn’t take it he killed a bus full of people and if the copycat is truly following the Reaper’s kills he’s going to kill multiple people soon.” Hotch excuses himself and opens the office door and heads out to talk to Morgan. Erin looks over at Hank with a worried look on her face as Hank runs a hand over his head as he stands clearly frustrated about everything that is going on.

Erin makes her way over to him, “We’re going to catch this guy Hank.”

Hank gives her a small smile, “I’m proud of you kid.” He pauses and smack his lips, “This unit seems like a good fit for you and I know with you working with us there is no place this son of a bitch can hide. Erin smiles at him. Hank notices everyone gathering in the bullpen, “Let’s go see what going on out there.” The two of them make their way out into the bullpen as Hotch begins to speak.

“I know that you all are frustrated but we do have a preliminary profile to give you guys.” Hotch looks around the room as he talks, “Much like the original Reaper this unsub fits the profile of an omnivore.”

“What’s omnivore?” Jay asks from his spot perched on the side of Hailey’s desk.

“Unlike most serial killers omnivore don’t target a specific type. He’s a predator that likes to kill.”

Kim raises her hand, “Why does he have a specific type?”

Hotch moves his eyes over to her, “For recognition. The kills aren’t just about the victims there also about his need for us to know what he is doing.”

Hank folds his arms over his chest and shakes his head, “Why?”

This time Emily takes over, “For this unsub it’s all about power and control.”

Hotch picks up where Emily left off, “This unsub is looking for the same power and control that the Reaper had. He showed this when he called you and offered you the deal which you rejected. Since he know that he doesn’t have that control over you he is going to lash out.”

Hank clears his throat, “This is why you said things are going to get worse.”

Hotch nods his head, “Yes. Like the Reaper this unsub is extremely disciplined. This behavior will pour over into his everyday life. It will be hard for him to keep close relationships or even work closely with someone. That’s all for now. Thank you.”

…

Both teams had called it a night after pouring of the case files of the last murders and they weren’t any closer to finding the unsub. The Intelligence Unit headed to Molly’s to grab a drink while the BAU team piled into their SUV’s to head to their hotels. Hotch, Morgan and Reid had already left, while JJ, Emily and Erin were getting ready to head to the hotel. Emily who was driving the SUV looks over at Erin with a smile on her face, “So, are you coming to the hotel with us or are we dropping you of at Jay’s?”

Erin turns to look at her with shock on her face as JJ lets out a laugh in the backseat. “Oh my god!” Erin says as she raises her hands to her face to hide her embarrassment.

“I’m just asking. I know it’s been a while since you too have seen each other.” She says raising her eyebrows suggestively.

Erin lowers her hands from her face, “It has been a while since we last saw each other.” Thinking about it but she shakes her head. “But were here on a case guys.”

“So?” JJ pipes up from the backseat, “In the early stages of my relationship with Will I took the opportunity to spend time with him even when we were there working a case.”

Emily looks over at her, “Look, we don’t have any leads right now, so I don’t see how spending one night with Jay is going to hurt anything.”

Erin thinks about it for a moment before she responds, “Okay. You guys can drop me off a Jay’s.” she says as she gives Emily directions to Jay’s place. They pull up to his apartment building a little while later and gets out the car. She leaves the door opened as JJ gets out from the backseat and gets into the passenger side. Before she gets in the building JJ calls out to her, “Have fun!”

“But not too much fun.” Emily shouts.

Erin laughs, “Goodnight guys.” She turns away from them shaking her head before she goes into the building she turns around, “Oh and Emily I hope you and Hotch have a good night too.” Erin says with a huge smile on her face as she turns opens the door to walk into the building. 

JJ lets out a huge laugh as she looks at Emily’s shocked expression. Emily has shocked written all over her face. She looks at JJ, “Does everybody know?”

JJ just laughs harder. When she finally settles down she says, “Come one Emily. You work with profilers it was only a matter of time before everyone found out.” 

…

Jay sits at Molly’s nursing a beer with his unit. He tried to get out of coming but Ruzek was not having it. He figured that Jay needed a drink after seeing Erin for the first time in three years. Little did he know that Jay had seen a lot more of Erin but they decided that they would keep their relationship a secret for now. He takes a drink from his beer as phone chimes in his pocket. He pulls it out to see that he has a text from Erin but before he can reply Hailey appears, “Hey, who are you texting?”

Jay shakes his head, “No one.”

Hailey gives him a look clearly knowing that he is lying but she decides not to press the issue. She takes a seat in the chair across from him as Ruzek comes back over to the table with Kim in tow. He takes a seat next to Jay as Kim seats next to Hailey. Ruzek takes a drink of his beer and looks over at Jay, “So, buddy. How are you really felling about Erin being back?”

Jay looks around at all the curious faces staring back at him. He lets out a small laugh, “Guys, I’m promise you I’m fine. It’s been three years since we broke up and I’m not the same guy. So you don’t have to worry about me.”

Ruzek gives him a look and nods his head as he slaps Jay on the back, “Alright.”

After a while Jay gets up from his chair and grabs his jacket.

Hailey furrows her eyebrows, “Where are you going?” 

“I’m headed home.”

“Already?” 

“Yeah, I’m beat. See you guys tomorrow.” He says as he heads out the door. Once he’s in his car he pulls out his phone and to see what Erin texted him.

I’m at your place. Where are you?

A huge grin breaks out on his face. He sends her a quick reply telling her he was on his way.

…

Jay turned the corner to get to his apartment a smirk appears on his face as he sees Erin leaning up against the wall next to his door scrolling through her phone, “Hey.”

Erin looks up and smiles at him, “Hey.”

“You know if I knew that you were coming straight here I would have found a reason not go to Molly’s tonight.” He says as he moves closer to her.

“Is that so?” Erin says with a flirty smile on her face.

“Yeah.” Jay says as he moves to stand in front of her.

“Well, I’m her now.”

He leans in closer so their faces are only inches apart, “That you are.” He captures her lips in possessive kiss. Erin grabs says hips pulling him closer to her. The two balance for control of the kiss as Jay he wraps his arm around her and hoist her up and she wraps her legs around his waist. Erin breaks away from the kiss.

“We should…um probably head inside your apartment before we give your neighbors a show.” She says breathlessly. 

Jay nods his head as Erin unhooks her legs from around his waist and he carefully put her back on the ground. He fishes out his apartment keys and opens the door. Once the door is opened he moves out of the way to let her go in first. He follows close behind her. He watches as she takes her coat off and turns around to watch him. He closes the door to the apartment and removes his jacket. As soon as his jacket is off Erin pounces on him and the two of them are once again wrapped up in each other. Jay hoists Erin up in his arms again as he carries her into his bedroom. He playfully throws her on the bed and she lets out a laugh as she pounces. He gives her his trademark smirk as he removes his shirt as Erin does the same.

Erin sits up on the bed and pulls Jay the pants and unbuckles his belt and pulls it out of his pants. As she tosses the belt on the floor he grabs her by the legs drawing her closer to him as he leans down and captures her mouth in a passionate kiss. He releases her mouth and begins trailing kiss down her neck. He moves further down her body placing kiss on her breast and stomach as he goes. Erin watches him through hooded eyes as he reaches her the top of her jeans. He gives her a smirk as he unbuttons them and begins to slowly pull them off her body and throws them to the side. Jay trails kiss along her thighs as he slowly pulls her underwear off and toss them aside. He begins to trail kisses up her legs and inside of her thighs. He lifts her right leg and places it on his left shoulder and draws her closer till he is kissing her sensitive center. Erin lets out a moan as moves to the apex of her thighs.

“Oh god!” Erin moans and moves her hands into his hair as Jay continues to pleasure her. The feeling of his tongue brushing against her most sensitive lips gives makes her let out deep moan. He gently brushes his tongue up to her clit and he know she’s ready. Her moans begin to get louder as he continues his motions. She digs her fingers through his hair as pleasure explodes through her body. 

As she comes down from her high she pulls on his hair to get him to move back over her. The continue to kiss another getting lost in each other. Erin breaks the kiss, “You have to many clothes on.” She with a sly smile. She moves her hands between their bodies and unbuttons his pants. Jay moves away from her removes his pants along with his underwear as Erin removes her bra. Jay captures her lips once again and cover her body with his. Their hand began to wander over each other as the desire continues to build. He hands move down his chest and they don’t stop till they reach his groin. Their eyes connect and he can tell by the look on her face that she wants to feel him. He positions himself between her legs as she smiles up at him. He gives her a kiss as he pushes into her. Erin bites her lip as he moves his hand to her leg moves onto his waist as he moves deeper inside her. 

The two continue to move as one as she moves her other leg around his waist and inter locking them around his back as he continues his slow movements inside her. He continues to grind her hips into her as he begins to drive into her faster and harder as her hands move to his ass bringing him closer to her. Fueled by their desire for one another and the pleasure flowing through them her body begins to contract around him that marks the beginning of her coming apart. He follows soon after her and Erin feels the pulsating waves for the second time that night as he releases all the tension built by her hands and lips. She forces her eyes open as she watches him come apart. She leans up to kiss as best she can as she continues to come out of her own orgasm. She runs her hands up and down his back as he comes down from his own release. His head falls to her shoulder as she runs her hand through his hair. He finally lifts his head back up and kiss her. He moves off of her moves onto his back as he pulls her with him. He strokes her hair as the two fall to sleep.

…

The cold Chicago air filled the night as a young woman waited for her bus to arrive. She had just off of work after working a double shift and she was exhausted. She pulled her coat tighter to her body as she looked down the road for the bus. After not seeing it she let out a sigh. It was late and she just wanted to go home. She notices a man walking up the street from a distance and she begins to get a little nervous. She pulls her purse closer to her and gets her mace out of her bag. As the man begins to gets closer relief floods through her as she sees the bus turn the corner and head in her direction. The man walks by her just as the bus pulls to a stop in front of her. She quickly boards the bus and takes her seat among the passengers.

The bus isn’t crowded there are only about six people on the bus including her. She takes a seat toward the back and pulls out her head phones as the bus pulls back out onto the road. The bus was driving for a while before the driver pulls over again to let another passenger on the bus. 

The man walks up the stairs of bus with slow calculated moves. He stops in front of the driver and reaches into his jacket and pulls out two .44 magnum and shots the driver point blank in the head. The young women whips her head toward the sound and sees a man standing there with pointing a gun at them as screams began to fill the air. Fear begins to enter her body and her heartbeat increases as he turns the other gun on them and opens fire. She watches as he walks with precision up the aisle firing the guns as he goes. She watches as people try to run and escape but have nowhere to go. He approaches her and all she can do is close her eyes as the bullet hits her and all she feels is coldness seep into her body. The screams that once filled the air are no more and all that is left is an an eerie silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: *hides* this is my first sex scene. So please be kind. This is totally new for me and I hope didn’t seem ridiculous. Not sure if there will be more.


	5. Chapter 5

Emerson said, “All is riddle, and the key to a riddle is another riddle.”

Nadia just wanted this night to end. It had been one of those days. She woke on the wrong side of the bed this morning. Then Jay had knocked on her bedroom door waking her up for their morning run. She should be used to it by now, he had been doing it since she moved in with him after Erin left but she wasn’t. She remembered Erin telling her how Jay always had her running with him in the mornings and she knew he must have been missing since she’s been gone. So, she suck it up when he came knocking and went. 

When she first got the news that Erin left she thought that Jay was joking. Because there was no way she would leave Jay even though the two of them were on the outs she wouldn’t have left without saying goodbye to her. But after seeing the devastation on Jay’s face she knew it was real. To say she was pissed would be an understatement. Jay tried to talk to her and explain why Erin left but she wouldn’t hear it any of it. After everything the her and Erin had been through she didn’t even warrant a goodbye. And that alone hurt the worst. 

Even with the hurt of Erin being gone at least she still had Jay. The two of them became close when he and Erin started dating and she had come to think of annoying older brother. But after Erin left the two of them became friends. Even though he tried to put up a front she could tell that Erin leaving had devasted him too. But then things went sideways on a case and little girl ended up dead. She knew that if Erin had been here Jay wouldn’t have fallen as deep of a hole as he did after the shooting of that little girl. Nadia tried to get Jay to call Erin but he told her that Erin was going through her own shit and that she didn’t need to be weighted down with his too. Even though she was pissed at Erin she knew she was the only one who could talk some sense into Jay. So she sent a message from his phone to Erin and she called him later that day and he finally let out all the emotion that he had been bottling up inside. Slowly the light started to come back to Jay’s eyes and she had Erin to thank for that. So, when Jay told her that the two of them decided to get to give it another go, she wasn’t surprised. In fact she was genuinely happy for them because she had never seen the two of them as happy as when they were with each other.

After months of ignoring Erin’s calls she finally decided to answer. The first conversation mostly consistent of Erin telling her how sorry she was for leaving without saying goodbye. The two them slowly began to rebuild their friendship but things were still a little awkward between them. When she got the message from Jay that Erin was in back in Chicago working a case, she wasn’t sure how she felt about it. She hadn’t seen Erin face to face in over three years and she was little nervous if she was to be honest but she would cross that bridge when it came. Right now she wished her partner would shut up because he hasn’t stop taking since they got in the car and she was starting to get a headache. They had just stop to get coffee and she went to the bathroom just to get a break from him. As soon as they were back in the car he was talking again and all she could do was roll her eyes. Thankfully the conversation was cut short by the sound of the of dispatch coming over the radio, “Units of the Districts 21st we have calls of multiple shots fired…”

“21-17 squad show us responding were three blocks away.” Nadia replied.

Her partner Joe turned on the sirens and put his foot on the gas as he looked over at her and picked the conversation, “Can you believe the FBI is here?” Without giving her a chance to respond he continues as he turns his attention back to the road and continues talking, “What really gets me is the fact that Voight is actually working with them? I just don’t see Voight listening to anything the FBI has to say. He likes to do things his own way.

“Yeah, he does but Intelligence needs all the help they can get. We a psycho out there killing people for no reason.” 

He nods his head in agreement, “He probably more okay with it because that one chick that you used to work at the District is with them.” 

She looks over at him, “You mean Erin Lindsay?” 

“Yea, that’s her name.” He pauses and shakes his head, “I’ve heard stories about that one. Heard she went bat shit crazy and put a gun in a suspects mouth during interrogation.” He glances over a Nadia to gauge her reaction. She keeps her eyes on the road in front of him as Joe begins to talk again, “And somehow she is now working for the FBI.” He shakes his head.

Nadia finally turns her head to look at him, “That’s because she a damn good cop and I would appreciate if you would shut your mouth and stop talking about her like you know what happened.”

“My bad. Didn’t know you too were close.”

Nadia lets out a sigh, “Well we are but even if weren’t she deserves more respect than the way you are talking about her. She was great Chicago cop and probably an even better FBI agent.”

He glances over at her, “Alright, I won’t say another word.” 

Silence fills the care as they pull up to the scene. Joe slows the cruiser down he rounds the corner and the abandoned bus comes into view. They both exit the vehicle with guns drawn and approached the bus. As the approached the doors to the bus Joe nods his head at Nadia signaling her to go ahead while he watches her back. Nadia slowly climbs the stairs to the bus with her gun drawn, “Body,” she whispers to her partner as spots the lifeless body of the bus driver. She turns her face away from him toward the rest of the bus, “Oh my god!”

There were no words to describe the scene in front of her. Blood was everywhere. The bodies of the passengers were littered across the seats with guns shot wounds and some if appeared to be mutilated. She had never seen anything like this before. She heard the footsteps of partner come up behind. He immediately took in the scene before him and bile began to rise in his throat. He turned and he ran down the steps of the bus and into the street and threw up. 

Nadia couldn’t plan her partner for reacting the way he did because that’s exactly what she wanted to do. But she swallows her own desire to throw up and holsters her gun and contacts dispatch. Then she heads back down to check on her partner who is bent over in the middle of the street with his hands on his knees, “You ok?”

Joe nods his head. She turns her head back to the bus and notices something written on the outside windows. “Hey.” She says as she hits him on the arm to get his attention. 

“What?”

“There’s something written on the bus windows.” As the sirens wail in the distance they approach the bus. “What the hell does that mean?” Joe says as he glances over at Nadia.

The words No Deal are written in blood along with some numbers. “No idea, but I think it might have something to do with Voight’s case and I know he’s going to want to know about it.” She grabs her radio and starts talking.

…

Erin wanders around Jay’s apartment in the shirt he was wearing earlier checking out his new digs. Jay was in the kitchen grabbing the two of them a beer. She hadn’t seen much of his place earlier since the two of them practically attacked each other once they entered the apartment. She glances around the living room and notices the little feminine touches around the apartment. A smile appears on her face when she spots the criminal law books on the table along with some other books for the police detectives exam. Erin leans down and picks one up and looks through it. She feels Jay’s presence behind even before she hears him speak, “She’s been studying her for her detectives exam. She’s hoping to follow in your footsteps and work in Intelligence.”

Jay’s words bring a huge smile to Erin’s face, “I’m so proud of her. She’s come along way.” 

“She has and that’s all thanks to you.”

Erin lets out a small laugh and shakes her head, “I may have given her the steps to walk out of her old life but the rest she did all on her own.” She places the book back on the table and takes the beer that Jay offers her. “Even though I know this stuff is Nadia’s it’s still weird seeing another woman’s stuff in your apartment that’s not mine.”

Jay lets out a laugh, “Well if it’s any consolation she’s extremely messy so it’s like living with you but you know without the extra benefits.” He says with his trademark smirk. 

Shock appears on Erin’s face as she slaps his chest, “Shut up.”

Jay laughs and leans in to kisses her before things can go any further the sound of their cell phones going off break them apart. The both exchange a look and go and retrieve their phones. 

“Halstead” “Lindsay” They reply as they answer their phones.

“Jay, its Hailey. Looks like the Reaper hit again….” Jay closes his eyes and lets out a breath at Hailey words. He opens his eyes and glanced over at Erin who was deep in a conversation most likely getting the same information as he was receiving. He watches her as she begins to move around the room and grab her clothes. Once she has everything she needs she heads into the bathroom and closes the door. The sound of Hailey’s voice pulls him back to the conversation at hand, “Jay did you hear me?”

“Yeah...yeah, I’m heading that way.” Jay replies as he hangs up the phone and begins to get dressed. As he does Erin emerges from the bathroom dressed as she finishes up her phone call. 

“Alright, I’m heading down now.” She says as she ends the call, “That was JJ she’s downstairs waiting for me her looks like the Reaper struck again and Hotch wants us at the scene.”

He nods his head, “Yeah, that was Hailey on the phone Voight wants us over there too as soon as possible.” 

She nods her head and moves closer to Jay, “I’m going head down there and wait for her.”

Jay pulls Erin into his arms and kisses her. Erin pulls back from the kiss as her as her phone beeps. “I gotta go.” She gives him a smile and heads out of the room. 

…

Erin and JJ pull up to the scene to the scene. As they get out of the car Erin spots Nadia talking to Hank. This is the first time she has seen Nadia in three years. Everything in her wants to go over there and pull the young girl into a hug. She missed her. Sure they talked on the phone but Erin to apologize to Nadia face to face. But she knew right now wasn’t the time. She had to focus on the case. So glanced over at Nadia one last time and followed JJ to the bus. 

Five minutes later Jay pulled up to the crime scene and got out of his truck and made his way over the bus. He saw Erin standing by the bus talking to Hotch and JJ he gives her a quick glance before he continues on his way. He noticed Nadia standing off to the side watching Erin. He decides to check on her, “Hey, you ok?”

Nadia nods her head and turns toward Jay, “Yeah, I just…” She shakes her head. “I never seen anything like that before.”

Jay nods his head in understanding, “You guys were the first on the scene?”

“Yeah…” She shakes her head and looks over at Jay, “I just…I’ve seen a lot since I’ve been on the job but…” she pauses, “nothing like this.” 

He places a hand on her shoulder and Nadia offers him a small smile, “Have you seen Voight?” 

Nadia clears her throat, “Yeah,” She says as she points to the bus, “He and Upton are checking out the crime scene.” 

He watches as her eyes land back on Erin. Jay gives her shoulder on last squeeze, “You know she doesn’t bite. You should go over there and talk to her.” 

Nadia shakes her head, “Maybe later. She looks busy.”

“Alright, I’m going gonna talk to Voight.” He tells her as he heads to the bus. 

…

Erin sees Nadia standing by herself and takes the opportunity to go and talk to her. “Hotch, I’ll be back in a sec.” She makes her way over to Nadia, “Hey.”

“Hey”

The two stand in awkward silence for a minute before Erin decides to break the silence, “How are you doing? I mean I know it can’t be easy seeing something like that.”

Nadia “I’m ok.” She shakes her head, “I mean I’m ok as anyone can be after seeing something like that.” Nadia pauses, “I know you have probably seen a lot of things like this working with the BAU. Does it get easier?” She questions.

Erin shake her head, “Seeing things this never gets easier.” After moment of silence Erin takes a deep breath and begins to speak, “I know I’ve said this before but I wanted to say this in person. I’m sorry for how I left. I should have talk to you and expl…”

Nadia holds up her hand and cuts Erin off, “You know when you first left I was pissed at you. After everything we went through I wasn’t even worth a goodbye but talking to Jay helped. And I realized you leaving wasn’t about me or Jay. You needed to get away to fix you. Just because I understood it didn’t make it hurt any less. But I wanted to tell you I’m sorry for ignoring you in the beginning. You were nothing but good to me and I should had let you explain. Nadia pauses, “But all that is in the past now and we are moving forward.”

Erin nods her head in agreement, “I think after we wrapped up this case we should have a girls night for old time sake.”

Nadia gives her smile, “Yeah, I like that.” 

…

“What’ve got?” Jay asks as he enters the bus. 

“Multiple victims with multiple GSWs and stabbing. The driver killed with a single shot to the head. The offender shot the passengers first and then proceeded to finish the job by stabbing them.” Hailey replies.

Jay looks over at Hank, “So, what makes us think this is the same offender?” 

Hank points to the front of the bus as Jay turns to see what he is pointing at, “He left the same symbol at the last crime scene.”

“The offender also left some numbers on the side of the bus along with the words “No Deal.” Hailey pauses, “Whatever that’s supposed to mean.”

“What kind of game is this guy playing?” Jay questions. 

Hank shake his head, “I don’t know but I’m getting really tired this guy jerking us around. ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Reviews are welcomed.


	6. Chapter 6

“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face; You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”  
~ Eleanor Roosevelt

They’d been at the crime scene for what felt like hours. Both teams walked the crime scene separately and gathered as much information as they could to go over it back at the District in the morning. Hotch and Voight decided it was best to send the teams home to get a couple hours of sleep before they dive into the information they gathered at the crime scene. 

As everyone got ready to leave the crime scene Voight decided it was a good time to pull Nadia aside and tell her he was detailing her to Intelligence for the case. Voight watched Nadia’s journey from drug addict to receptionist and finally to cop and it reminded him a lot of Erin’s journey. Halstead had mentioned to him a while back Nadia’s desire to one day work in Intelligence. So, he kept his eye on her and watched her work as a cop and he was impressed. He knew that she had the makings of becoming a good police. When he arrived at the scene and saw that Nadia and her partner were the ones who answered the call he was surprised how she handled the situation. He figured this would be the perfect case to see if she could really handle the pressure that comes with working in Intelligence. So, he was going to give her the opportunity to prove herself.

To say Nadia was excited was an understatement. She held it when as much as she could but Voight could feel the excitement rolling off of her, “Thank you so much Sarge.” She replies as her eyes fill with joy.

Voight nodded his head, “As of right now it’s just for this case. But I may have a spot opening soon so will see how you do.”

“I understand.” She replies as Voight gives her one more nod before walking away. As soon as Voight turns away she looks around for Jay. She spots him talking to Erin. She shakes her head at the two of them, for two people hiding the fact that they are together they are not acting like they haven’t seen each other in three years. She lets out a small laugh and makes her way over to them.

Jay spots her first and sees the smile she is trying to hide on her face, “What’s going on with you?”

“Voight’s detailing me to Intelligence for this case and he said there may be an opening in Intelligence soon.” Nadia says barely containing her excitement.

A huge smile appears on Jay’s face as he pulls her into a hug, “That’s awesome. What’d I tell you, huh?” He pauses, “I knew you’d been up there soon.”

“Don’t get me too excited yet ok? Voight only said there might be a spot.”

As the two separate from there hug Erin moves in to congratulated her, “Congrats.” She says as she pulls Nadia into a quick hug, “Voight doesn’t tell anyone that there may be a spot unless he means it.” Nadia gives Erin a smile, “I’m proud of you Nadia. You’ve come a long way.”

“Thanks, Erin, That really means a lot coming from you.”

Jay clears his throat, “Ladies, I hate to break this up but we should head out because we are going to have to be back at the district before we know it.” 

Erin and Nadia nod their head in agreement and they all head to their respective vehicles and leave so they can get some rest. 

…

Both teams had gathered in the bullpen of the Intelligence Unit pouring of the information from last night for what seemed like hours. They had been carefully dissecting the information making sure that didn’t miss any key information. 

“Alright, so we know the offender entered the bus using robbery pretending to rob everybody. He shoots the driver point blank and proceeds to tell the rest of the passengers to give them their wallets but instead of actually robbing them he opens fire on the passengers and then proceeds to stab the ones that are still alive. Then he writes a series of random numbers and the words “No deal” on the side of the bus in the victim’s blood. ” Jay throws down the file his desk as he leans back in his chair. “This guys is killing innocent people for no reason and leaving riddles on the sides of buses for what? What does this whole “No deal” even mean?”

The BAU team shares looks between each other as do Hotch and Voight. Jay catches the look between them, “Do you guys know what this is?”

Silence fills the room. Ruzek looks around the room and finally breaks the silence, “Sarge, you gotta tell us what’s going on here?”

Voight let’s out a sigh and opens his mouth to speak, “The night before I called the BAU on to the case I got a call from the offender. He told me if I stop hunting him then he would stop killing.”

“What did you say?”

“What you think I said Ruzek?” Voight answer with an annoyed tone in his voice. Ruzek holds up his hands in defense.

“So, you’re telling me this psycho offered you a deal you didn’t take so now he’s going around killing innocent people because you said no.” Antonio says as he stands by his desk. Voight just stares at Antonio with his signature stare. 

JJ’s voice breaks the tension in the room, “Alright, let’s get one thing straight there’s only person who’s at fault for the death of these people and that’s the unsub. Just like the Reaper the unsub thrives on power and control and he wants to get in your heads and have you start doubting each other.” She finishes as she looks between the two men.

“She’s right.” Hotch says from his spot by Voight. “The Reaper offered me the same deal and I didn’t take and for a long time I blamed myself for the deaths that followed after. But a friend made me realize that I was playing into his game and that the death of those people were on him.” Hotch pauses as his gaze goes around the room looking at everyone. “We need to focus on finding out who this unsub is and catching him before more innocent people die.”

Erin clears her throat and begins to talking as she makes her way to the board where the crime scenes photos are hanging, “We know the “No deal” is referring to the deal the unsub offered Voight but we don’t know is what the numbers of the side of the bus refer too.”

Hotch notices Reid looking like he is in deep focus, “Reid what is it?”

Reid continues to stare at the numbers, “I’m not sure yet. But there’s something about these numbers that are familiar but I’m going to need go over the old Reaper case files to see how it might be connected.”

Hotch nods his head and looks over at Morgan, “Call Garcia and have her send of the Reaper case files.” 

Morgan pulls out his phone dials Garcia before Hotch can even finish his sentence. He puts the phone on speaker, “Baby girl I need you to do me a favor.”

“Anything for you my chocolate thunder.” Garcia answers with a flirty smile on her face.

Morgan let’s out a laugh he looks up and notices the all the eyes on him, “Behave your on speaker.”

“Aww, your no fun. What do you need?”

“Hotch needs you to send over the case file for the Reaper. Reid thinks he may have found something but he needs to look over the old files.” 

“I’ll send them right away.”

“Thanks Penelope.” He says as he hangs up the phone.

…  
Several hours later Reid sits at Atwater’s desk scanning over The Reaper’s old case file. Atwater and Ruzek were leaning against Antonio’s desk watching the young FBI agent as his eyes rapidly moved over the words on the paper. 

Atwater looks over at Ruzek, “So, do you really think he’s actually reading all of that?”

Adam shakes his head, “No way. There is no way anybody can read that fast.”

Erin let’s out a chuckle at the two of them as she leans against Kim’s desk, “You two do know that he can hear you, right?”

Never looking up from what he was reading Reid starts to speak, “To answer your question I have and eidetic memory and can read 20, 000 words per minute. In simplest terms, yes I’m reading everything.” 

Ruzek and Atwater exchange a look before they both say, “Cool.” 

Kim and Erin shake their heads at the two of them as Hailey pipes, “You guys are idiots.” Everyone busts out laughing at her statement. 

Just then Reid pops up from his seat yelling, “Hotch! I think I found something.”

Hotch makes his way out of the breakroom along with Morgan, “What do you have Reid?”

He stands up and makes is way over to Hotch, “You know how those numbers seemed familiar.” Hotch nods. “We all should recognized them.” He takes a marker and writes the numbers of the board. 

1439, 201, 1488

“These are the same numbers of Foyet’s old address.”

“Are you saying we have a lead on this guy?” Voight says from behind Hotch.

“It’s a possible lead. Foyet was at one of the three locations that he gave us. He attacked Morgan and killed a police officer. So, there is a likely hood we could be walking into a trap.” Hotch replies.

“What other option do we have. We have no leads on this offender. I say we hit these locations.” Jay says as he leans back in his chair.

“Alright, everybody vest up. We’re doing this in teams of three. Hotch, Prentiss and myself will hit the first location, Morgan and Erin will hit the second and Jay and Adam the third. Everybody be prepared we have no idea what we could be waking into.”

…

Both teams were down in the rollup preparing to hit the three possible locations that the Reaper maybe at. They were prepared for the fact that they could be walking into a trap but they had no other options. This was the only lead they had and they had to check it out. As they stood in the rollup getting vested up Jay’s eyes scanned the room to find Erin. He spots her across the room talking to Morgan. To say he is nervous about her going into the field would be an understatement. He knows she’s a great cop but this offender was something that he had never dealt with before. He know that since she had been working BAU she had dealt with her fair share of crazy but there was just something different about this case. He trusted Morgan to keep her safe tonight but that didn’t mean he didn’t wish he was the one by her side. He watched as Hotch called Morgan over to him Jay took the opportunity to go over and talk to Erin. 

She had just put her vest when Jay made his way over and helped her secure it on. She turns around with a smile on her face, “Thanks.”

He gives her a nod as he places his ear piece in his ear. Erin looks up at him and she knows there’s something on his mind. She glances around to make sure no one is paying attention to them. When she sees that no one is watching she places a gentle hand on his arm. “Hey what’s up?”

Jay looks at her, “Just…just be safe out there tonight.”

Erin gives him a small smile, “You don’t have to worry Morgan’s got my back.”

Jay nods, “I know… it’s just I’m used to being me.” He turns to leave but before he can Erin catches his hand, “You be safe out there too.”

Jay gives her hand a quick squeeze and heads back over to where Ruzek is. After everyone is vested up they all stand around ready to go. Hank comes into the rollup and stands in the middle of the room, “We all know that we are walking in blind tonight that’s why we all need to have our guards up.” Hank looks around the room at both teams and points his finger to the ground, “We all come home tonight.”

Everyone nods their heads in agreement and move to the cars to roll out. 

…

Hotch, Prentiss and Voight pull up to the first location. They all exit the truck in a fluid motion and head toward the house. The house is dark and looks to be abandoned. Voight takes the front while Hotch and Prentiss head toward the back. Voight breaches the darkened house with his gun drawn. He moves through the house with efficiency checking the rooms and comes up empty he meets Hotch and Prentiss in the kitchen.

“The house is clear.” Prentiss says as she halters her gun.

“He was never here.” Voight answers in his gruff voice. 

…

At the same time that Hotch, Voight and Prentiss were breaching the house Morgan and Erin moving toward the stairs of the apartment they were told to check out. They move up the stairs and in sync as Morgan takes the lead. He signals to her that he is about to breach and Erin nods her head letting him know that she is ready. Morgan opens the door and they move into the apartment and they search the rooms with no luck. 

They head back down the stairs as Erin grabs her radio, “Hotch he’s not here.”

“He wasn’t at our location either.” Hotch replies.

“Where is this guy?” Erin says looking at Morgan.

…

Jay and Ruzek pull up to the last location and get out of the truck with their guns drawn. As they moved toward the house Jay looks over at Ruzek and motions his hand for him to move, “Take the back.” 

Ruzek nods his head in agreement and made his way toward the back of the house. While Jay continues to breach the front of the house. As Jay gets ready to enter the front of the house Ruzek was getting ready to enter the back when he hears a noise. He swiftly turns around and looks around to see where the sound came from. He doesn’t hear the sound again and gets to turn and enter the house when he feels a blinding pain in the back of his head before his whole world goes dark.

Jay moves through the foyer of the house and checks up the stairs when he doesn’t hear any movement he heads back down. He makes his way into the living room in smooth yet calculated move. He makes his way into the dining room when he hears something that made him draws his attention toward the living room. He makes is way slowly toward the large window in front of the house he checks behind the chair in the room and sees nothing. He hears quick movements but before he can even registers what is happening the unsub tackles him through the window knocking him out cold.

…

“Have you heard anything from Halstead and Ruzek yet?” Voight asks into his radio.

Erin looks up at Morgan before talking into her radio, “No.”

…

The unsub recovers quickly since Jay took the brunt of the fall. He gets up and pulls out his gun and moves it across his face. He steps over his body and grabs the badge located on the belt of the detective’s pants. 

He notices the name etched on the front of his vest and cocks his gun, “Wake up Halstead. It’s time to die.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Reviews are welcomed!


End file.
